You know the world’s been twist-turned upside down when Fu Manchu is kicking out 18-minute jams and Earthless is singing—yes, actually singing—sub-10-minute numbers. That’s right, America’s pre-eminent jam band seems to be slowing down in their old age, as apparent on this latest release.

Mind you, most of the songs here still exceed six minutes in length. “Gifted by the Wind” opens on a solid 70’s groove that kinda reminds me of “Black Betty,” albeit a little more mellowed out, with more space between the notes. It culminates in a pretty groovy chorus, and the vocals certainly suit the arrangement. And yes, there’s still a sizzling guitar solo… it just doesn’t last for 5 minutes.

Despite coming in a hair under five-and-a-half minutes, “End to End” takes a little while to get going, but when it does, it kicks into a pretty decent slice of Mountain worship, with the vocals especially channelling Leslie West. Nine-minute “Electric Flame” actually has more of a Wino vibe, particularly in the guitar department, reminding me of a pretty extended Obsessed cut. “Volt Rush” distills the band’s patented rolling grooves and psychedelic guitar freakouts into a tight, two-minute tune. That’s right, it’s all over in 1:55!

“Black Heaven” is another welcome return to their instrumental roots. It opens with shades of Led Zeppelin, launching into a pretty solid up-tempo blues groove that does sound better without any vocals overtop. Maybe this singing thing is just a phase?

What’s better than seeing Earthless live? How about seeing Earthless live with lava lights!? The San Diego heavy psych veterans brought their new album out on tour, along with some solid support from the land of the rising sun. I wasn’t too familiar with Kikagaku Moyo beforehand, but their psychedelic melodies came in all flavours from mellow to heavy to trippy. Plus, you gotta give props to any outfit that has a full-time sitar player!

Now, Earthless’ new album has four songs with vocals and lyrics, which is highly unusual for them. They did play two of those songs this evening–but before and after that, they simply kicked out the cosmic jams we’re accustomed to. And they were waaaay tripper with the light show, maaaan…

In this age of post-modern songwriting and culturally blended musicianship, finding something which is truly striking and unique in its composition, performance and presentation is rare but, as Yamantaka // Sonic Titan proves on its third album Dirt, not impossible. This time out, the Canadian Noh-Wave behemoths offer listeners their first great breakthrough document of both sound and style; over the course of ten cuts, the group intertwines elements of progressive rock and metal musics with the spirit of Japanese anime culture, but also strings its own unique strand of pop at its core.

The results are simultaneously unique and anthemic, but also (and this is the most surprising bit) universally accessible; even if a listener isn’t into one particular aspect of Dirt, the other sounds employed can converge in a perfectly charmed way to make that one thing easy to overlook when faced with all the others.

After opening bombastically with some explosive sonic histrionics and some vocals calls akin to the sound of a Cerberus howling through “Karonhiake,” Dirt immediately locks down tightly into the perfectly entitled “Someplace” and begins a progression which sees listeners’ eyes regularly widening with equal amounts of disbelief and appreciation. There, singer Joanna Delos Reyes takes the mic and offers a pitch-perfect and beautiful vocal counterpoint to the sonic backdrop which builds from a sweet and warm arpeggiated rhythm figure to an unbelievable, meticulously executed and metallic (with, yes, some obvious prog inflections included prominently) pinnacle.

Even at this first cut, listeners will already feel their their eyes begin to widen as the discipline required to keep this performance as tight as it is is apparent, yet the band doesn’t hold back or pull a single punch either. Listeners will find themselves amazed at how flawlessly the early playing of Dirt is as the power and precision of “Someplace” just spontaneously evaporate at the song’s close, leaving a full two seconds grace for the band to collect itself and for listeners to blink and simply stand amazed thereafter.

Following the two-second collection period at the end of “Someplace,” Yamantaka // Sonic Titan drop effortlessly into a face-melting blast of perfectly measured progressive rock at the opening of “Dark Waters.” There, the band straddles the lines between ‘anthemic’ and ‘astounding’ in much the same way Judas Priest and King Crimson used to do in their finest moments, but without sounding like either of those bands in the slightest. Rather, the song charges forth like a beast with Ange Loft riding and lyricist/songwriter Alaska B. spurring it on, masterfully.

Guitarist Hiroki Tanaka and bassist Brandon Lim follow the charge set by Loft beautifully, adding fantastic and furious colors to the song which make it both driving and urgent and, when color gets added by Brendan Swanson’s keyboards and horns begin to creep in too, the results feel positively orchestral instead of just coming off as busy. No matter how often one listens to the opening charge presented here, the blitzkrieg nature of it never fades; the perfectly refined aesthetics and presentation here are absolutely dazzling.

After “Dark Waters,” the A-side of Dirt keeps its energy up marvellously and the band continually adds new elements to further enrich its sound. First, “Yandere” features a tandem vocal performance from Loft and Joanna Delos Reyes which makes for a thoroughly surreal aural experience, and both that song and its successor “Decay” offer some sparkling synth sounds to the mix in order to introduce a bit of a celestial sensation to the proceedings (which is particularly complimentary to the more shred-centered attack of “Yandere”), and the side closes with a more urban-flavored and surreal exposition in the form of “Beast.”

Now, those who have yet to hear “Beast” need to understand how perfect the song is to end the side of a vinyl record. With the clanging, chiming Asian percussion that opens the song, listeners who were introduced to Yamantaka // Sonic Titan specifically by Dirt will have their interest piqued and will once again find themselves listening very closely for what “Beast” may bring, and what they’ll find is remarkable. The song’s introduction adds a grandeur to it that listeners will actually be able to feel when the chord progression begins to change and, when the guitar and bass enter the equation, the excitement instantly escalates and sets pulses racing.

The same is true when the keyboards enter the mix and, when the gong sounds to close the song, it is then that listeners will be reminded to breathe; the way “Beast” develops is absolutely lush and epic, and it might actually be after listeners play through it a few times that they realize the song does not feature a lengthy lyric sheet at all. It’s simply phenomenal and that it’s largely wordless just sort of fits the spirit of the songs which preceded it; completely unlike anything else in pop, but ravishingly exciting to pop and rock listeners too.

As listeners flip the album over in hopes of hearing the energy levels which were set by Dirt‘s A-side remain at the same level, they’ll find that there is indeed no dip at all as “Hungry Ghost” opens the side. There, after a dreamy two-minute introduction, Y//ST takes a page from Black Sabbath and just ravishes listeners with heavy, overdriven power chords, thick bass and dense drums. Shades of menace and danger which touch every tone in the song and, when it reaches its breakdown at the two-and-a-half-minute mark, those listening will actually be able to feel their eyes lower to a penetrating glare – the movement dark, dangerous and feels completely genuine.

After that, the album’s title track helps to lighten the proceedings up ever so slightly but doesn’t lose the obviously aggressive undertones presented by “Hungry Ghost,” and then “Tawine” shifts gears and lurches/stomps menacingly, as well as featuring the cleanest vocal performance on the album (where Delos Reyes invites listeners to come along with her, if they dare) before “Out Of Time” picks up speed again to get listeners good and worried once more to close the album.

There, as Loft and Delos Reyes get truly nihilistic as they hand the mic back and forth, they also contrast the subject matter with the most technically nimble and impressive vocal performance on the whole album. That – plus both some truly awesome guitar and keyboard solos – makes “Out Of Time” the perfect note on which to end the album, and listeners will find they’ve been left glowing by the experience as the needle lifts when the needle lifts; it’s absolutely spectacular.

Standing back from the vinyl pressing of Dirt, yes, those who run front-to-back with the album will know that they’ve just experienced a rare and remarkable thing thanks to the music alone – but the vinyl takes it a bit further too. Limited to a pressing of just 500 copies on white vinyl, Dirt is as visually striking as it is sonically incredible and feels like a treasure when one has it in hand. Those who want to share in that sensation should act fast, get to Paper Bag Records’ website and order their copy now – because with music like this, the odds of copies of this vinyl waiting to get collected are simply non-existent.

The first pressing of Dirt will be limited to 500 copies, pressed on white vinyl, and will be released on March 23, 2018. Pre-order it here, directly from Paper Bag Records: shop.paperbagrecords.com/products/dirt.

EXHUMED and INCANTATION wrapped up a brief West Coast US tour with PHOBIA on March 3, 2018 in Oakland, California. Check out Gene Gaona’s conversation with Exhumed’s main man to hear Matt Harvey chatting about his bands (Exhumed but also Gruesome, Pounder), set lists, snow storms, progressive politics, censorship, Star Wars, football and more.

A simple summation of Violation Wound’s sound is that they sound like Autopsy or Abscess without the death and doom elements of their music. So, to say it’s stripped down is an understatement. This is no surprise when you realise that Autopsy and former Abscess member Chris Reifert is on guitar and vocals. It really is an excellent album, channelling Discarge, Amebix and Venom into a cement mixer of razor-riffed fury. The lyrics are more socially aware, and this works well. The production is just right. Superb cover artwork too. Highly recommended. This is as it should be – as you’d expect from Peaceville and Chris Reifert.

You’ve got to respect Death [from Detroit] for the way they’ve chosen to conduct themselves over the years. Really think about it, reader; this is a band who, since changing their name and turning to punk rock in 1976 has only released six albums [Death started in 1973 as a funk band called Rock Fire Funk Express] – most of which were released long after they were originally recorded anyway. It goes without saying that no one in the group has really taken themselves seriously as a band and have only done it for fun, when there was time.

It might sound ridiculous, but that pigheaded refusal to acknowledge their own real value as a pop or punk band has kept their releases exciting. They put out material when they feel like it and/or have time and that music always appears gleaming with promise because everything about it is an escape from the everyday for everyone involved – for both listeners and the band itself. That, presumably, is what has kept the music light and energetic.

All of those aforementioned aspects are present and accounted for from the moment that the “Give It Back” seven-inch’s title track opens the A-side. There, amid a simple beat, formulaic bass (which is locked tightly to the song’s chord progression) and a brilliantly poppy guitar part, singer/bassist Bobby Hackney keeps his inspiration (and lyric sheet) simple and vague (how else would one quantify lyrics like “When we were children, we made believe/ We grew up to find out life ain’t what it seems/ Day in and day out, you ask ‘Is this all?/ If life is a party, then where is the ball?’”) as he laments the perils of growing up and begs to go back to simpler times. In almost any other band’s hands, this story would quickly break down into a miserable lament of lost opportunities, but it never makes that turn in Death’s hands; for four minutes, the band keeps the mood light and bouncy, and concedes that they owe the world and need to give back for all the fun they’ve had. It’s cute and responsible – a perfect balance between young fun and adult responsibility.

For its part, the B-side song “Playtime” angles a little more toward a genuine punk angle (in an Iggy and The Stooges or MC5 kind of way) but unlike those who have attempted similar punk angling before, there is precisely no veiled darkness waiting in the wings here. When the band calls out the song’s title as a choral rejoinder and then follows it with likes like “Grab your toys/ Everybody in/ Everybody wins/ Make some noise,” there’s no doubt that the song is just a genuine call to have fun. It’s an attractive call too – the guitars suppliedby Bobbie Duncan split the difference between energy that is frenetic and fun-loving in the same tradition that bands like The Vaselines, The Who and The Fastbacks did.

Clocking in at under ten minutes, there’s no question that those who hear the “Give It Back” single will still be hungry for more after they’ve run through both sides. The spirit and energy of it is as addictive as it is simple. Will those who get hooked have to wait long for Death to answer this seven-inch? Who knows – if history means anything, a follow-up will come just as soon as the band feels like doing more; that could happen in a year or two or ten or more, it’s anyone’s guess. With that sort of “wide open and unknown” timeline, those who have just discovered Death may feel a bit discouraged but they can take heart: with the multitude of reissues and other such albums available in Death’s catalogue, there’s lots of music for listeners to discover and love while they wait for a new full-length to come along.

Morbid Saint @ Coalition T.O on March 9th, 2018

Time to lock up your children! Underground thrashers Morbid Saint have arrived in Toronto. Formed in 1982 in Wisconsin, the five-piece released the highly respected Spectrum of Death debut album before undertaking the route of so many ‘80s thrash acts and dissolving by 1994 when the subgenre declined. 2010 saw the band reunite and 2015 saw their sophomore effort Destruction System meet the light of day. Despite their storied history, this is actually their first jaunt in Canada and the Coalition is stocked with fervent thrashers tonight. New Jersey death/thrash force Blood Feast were supposed to make the trek but malevolent weather saw the band cancel last minute. Local thrashers Apokalyptic Warrior were also supposed to round out the line-up but one of their members sustained a cracked rib, forcing them to drop off too.

It’s past midnight when thrash assemblage Morbid Saint take the stage but the audience numbers are resolutely high. The band makes the unpredictable decision to open with non-album track “Thrashaholic,” which has closed their performance at festivals. This latter addition to their discography peels away the death metal accents that permeated Spectrum of Death and sounds significantly less nasty. However, this does nothing to deter a full force mosh pit which, amazingly for Toronto, is drawn out through more or less the entire set.

Before long, the clock rewinds back to 1990 as the headliners unveil “Burned at the Stake,” spewing out frenetic thrash that makes the Bay Area thrash packs look like easy listening music. The only original member of the line-up is guitarist Jay Visser but his new members make a valiant attempt of capturing the excitement that a thrash addict enjoys when faced with the prospect of seeing Morbid Saint live. The sound is drum heavy, to the detriment of the guitars, and vocalist Cliff Wagner has less of a venomous snarl to his voice compared to early days vocal-shredder Pat Lind.

All of Spectrum of Death (except the instrumental) is played tonight, meticulously executed without striding into isolating technical chaos. As can be expected, “Lock Up Your Children” and “Damien” are highlights of the night, speeding through the venue and leaving ashes in their wake.

Freshly penned compositions “Flesh of the Disease,” “Conjure the Fire,” “I of Hate,” “Daku” and “17” from a forthcoming album are premiered for the Canadian audience. Those expecting this unreleased material to mimic the debut will be disappointed; the music tends towards contemporary thrash features – emphatic rhythms, more melodic guitar leads and an absence of death metal characteristics.

The band’s exuberance maintains all eyes on them, despite the destructive pit, and the poor sound quality improves after a couple songs. Visser is an amicable frontman and with the other fresh-faced members, they collectively relish playing live which an older band may not communicate. The heart-beat-raising one-two punch of “Assassin” and “Crying for Death” wraps up the show commendably.

It was fantastic to see this legendary speed metal assault. Hearing virtually all of Spectrum of Death is a true pleasure. The newer tracks are admittedly not as impressive but it was brilliant to see a Toronto audience thrash out for the whole night in sizeable numbers even after midnight. Toronto needs more obscure classic thrash shows because evidently there is a significant amount of support for speed metal in 2018.

In the metal world, Rob Halford is a man of important influence and inspiration. Halford, along with the band Judas Priest, paved the way for metal. Judas Priest stands among the godfathers of metal, like Black Sabbath, earning them high respect in the metal world. Musically, they took heavy guitar to a new level and perfected the power metal scream.

There’s Judas Priest. And then there’s Halford.

When I was a kid I was awed by him. His heavy, spiked leather jacket and jaunty police hat that he always wore blew me away. I was fascinated by the style and aspired to one day be able to pull something like it off. Years later, as I went on to high school (and got a leather jacket), I came out as gay. Not much later I happened to read in a book about Halford’s coming out. This surprised and enthralled me, causing my already high respect for him to only grow more.

Homosexuality is sparsely represented in the metal world now. In the late nineties, when Halford came out, GBLTQ representation was even less. And though his proclamation surprised some, it mostly confirmed what others already knew. Despite his own concerns, fans remained loyal, and he has remained a respected part of metal history. Halford helped reinforce the idea that sexuality doesn’t, and shouldn’t, change how people view the individual.

From his vocals, to his sense of style, to his overall way of being, Rob Halford is a man of great influence. Personally, I feel that his being openly gay has helped me embrace my sexuality and not feel so self-conscious. Though I fear judgment, it has lessened significantly due to the success I have witnessed. Overall, I’d say he is a symbol of hope and confidence for me and I believes to others as well.

In my own experience, I must say, being a gay gal in the metal community is odd, to say the least. Like in every group, there has been a few (very few) that have made me feel unsafe, but the overwhelming majority has been so kind, welcoming and non-judgmental. I would like to attribute much of the openness and respect to Halford, who blatantly proved that you can be both gay as hell and metal as fuck.

— Starla Fifield

Starla’s playlist:

Judas Priest’s “Heavy Metal” will always be a favourite. It was the first Priest song I was exposed to and it will always hold a place in my heart.

And then I also love “Beyond the Realms of Death.”

As for other artists that I look up to, I would have to say Marilyn Manson, for the reason of his originality. He has an ability to just be who he wants, whether people like it or not. My favourite songs by him would be “Dope Hat” and “Nobodies.”

Rise Up, Women: The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes

Written by Diane Atkinson

Recently I saw the excellent film Suffragette (which Diane Atkinson was a consultant on) starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. It’s not often you see a film that changes the way you view the world and its inequality and injustice, but this is what Suffragette did for me, and I urge everyone to watch it.

I never learned about the Suffragettes in secondary school, which is a disgrace. It should have been taught, along with all subjects that increase empathy and humanity. But, on the positive side, the Weinstein scandal has made people think about inequality in all areas of life, not just in Hollywood. In 2018, we should NOT tolerate institutions that oppress women, whatever they are. Whether it’s casual sexism, or sex-trafficking, or the vile treatment of the Yazadi women by Isis, it is all wrong, and should not be tolerated by civilised people.

And we can look to the Suffragettes for inspiration here, who between Queen Victoria’s death and the outbreak of the Great War, fought their own, no less great war for women’s rights.

As an aside, this is a beautifully designed and presented book – kudos to Bloombury for living up to their own legacy with it.

Interestingly, the term “Suffragette” was coined by a certain Charles Hands, a Daily Mail journalist in 1906 as pejorative, but this backfired as it was adopted as a badge of honour by these brave women. Their courage would shame many of us today, and we would do well to adopt one of their mantra’s: ‘deeds, not words’.

I think the following quote from the book says more about the Suffragette Movement than any of my words:

“After Mrs Pankhurst was arrested in Glasgow in March 1914, one suffragette, Mary Richardson, was so incensed that she bought the smallest axe she could find and, hiding it in her sleeve, went into the National Gallery and attacked the Rokeby Venus, a painting by Velazquez. When sentenced by the judge to six months hard labour, she said: ‘I care more for justice than I do for art and I firmly believe when a nation shuts its eyes and prefers to have women… ill-treated and tortured, then I say this action of mine should be understandable.’”

Words that still resonate today… We should all take a long look in the mirror and see if we can live with what stares back at us.

Wolf fetishes are the meal of the day as frequent tour partners Satanic Swedes Watain and black thrash attack Deströyer 666 spread their blasphemy across North America. Opening this leg of the trek iare Canadian war mongers Revenge, ensuring this line up as the premier extreme metal date of the waning year thus far.

The elongated queue slithering around the venue after the doors open means a sizeable proportion of the spectators miss out on opening band Revenge’s bestial devastation. These Edmonton war metallers blaze through a set of grind-coloured black death ferocity. The low fidelity of their music is difficult to replicate in the Opera House, with the instruments bleeding into each other. Tempos are either breakneck speeds or bone crunching crawls. Stabbing blast beats and messy tremolo guitar slash away the listener’s flesh, compounded by deep growls and scratching rasps. Seeing them perform in such a voluminous venue depletes some of the grit that complements their sound and the audience’s lacklustre response is less than encouraging. Nonetheless, the likes of ‘Traitor Crucifixion’, ‘Altar of Triumph’ and ‘Blood of My Blood’ are featured tonight and are enough to force any Revenge fan who got inside the venue early enough to salivate.

Arguably the most impressive act this evening, black/thrash/death wolfpack Deströyer 666 ignite their set with ‘Wildfire’ from their most recent full-length of the same name. This release saw the Australian-sourced horde reduce their idiosyncratic ‘epic’ atmosphere in favour of interspersing more heavy metal guitar conventions into their compositions, resulting in more live-conscious songs. Needless to say, these songs – the opener, raucous metal sing-along ‘Hounds At Ya Back’ and the stinging ‘Traitor’ – whip up the fans’ moshing fervour with minimal effort. Older and down-right nastier numbers ‘A Breed Apart’ and ‘I Am the Wargod (Ode to the Battle Slain)’ bulldoze the Opera House, in spite of the flawed sound proffered by the hall. Since the band’s inception over 20 years ago, Deströyer 666 is effectively powered by frontman KK Warslut. He has an austere stage presence, espousing a ‘don’t give a fuck’ attitude while rocking out. Their set feels far too brief and the lack of usual staple ‘Satanic Speed Metal’ is glaring. However, the mandatory Motörhead ‘Iron Fist’ cover that the band has performed since Lemmy passed away makes the cut and forces the crowd into energetic disarray once last time.

This year already saw Sweden’s Watain release their sixth slab of full-length black metal, Trident Wolf Eclipse. The stage is adorned with their signature tridents, inverted crosses and animal skulls and bones, looking particularly kitsch and outdated in 2018. Older number ‘Devil’s Blood’ instigates the set with early Mayhem-inspired guitar and drum work. Stained with blood, the Swedes maintain a dynamic stage presence throughout their performance, captivating those who remained after the Deströyer 666 set. Over half of the track list tonight is yanked from the new album and fan favourite Sworn to the Dark. New songs ‘Furor Diabolicus’, ‘Nuclear Alchemy’ and ‘Sacred Damnation’ feel uninspired, pedalling more anti-cosmic Satanic commercialism via their gimmicky stage antics. Older selections ‘Satan’s Hunger’, ‘Malfeitor’ and ‘On Horns Impaled’ showcase no surprises. They draw from the likes of their Swedish elders including Bathory, Dissection and Marduk, a codified approach to penning tracks that leaves more to be desired. Double bass drumming and fervent tremolo picking is the order of the day and as the set wanes on, the audience thins out. ‘The Serpent’s Chalice’ concludes the night and it’s a relief that the show has ended although disappointing that there was nothing worth waiting for, like a cover of Bathory’s ‘Sacrifice’ as they have been known to fire out.

Watain’s performance may have been style over substance, a type of boy band black metal. Fortunately, Deströyer 666 and Revenge held the torch for their respective blackened subgenres, armed with a commanding stage presence with no need to rely on hackneyed imagery.